Thursday, August 19, 2010

Texas Tidbits : What's In a Name?

Are You  Sure?*
One thing is certain about Texas. It's BIG. But when it comes to location, where on Earth am I? I don't know. I'm Uncertain, but I know I'm Happy it's a small town where nobody tried to Cut and Shoot  me. Another sure thing about Texas is that is dotted with small towns with some interesting names, as evidenced by the four towns previously mentioned. I thought that today we'd take a look at some real places with real odd handles. Like Muleshoe. Or Telephone. There are dozens of other locations in the Lone Star State with unique, if not downright funny names. American Profile has an article with several good ones. Texas Escapes tells us of Looneyville (it's near Crazy Creek! I am not making this up!) , Diddy Waw Diddy and Old Granny's Neck. I have personally been to the Home of Bob Wills, Turkey, Texas., not to mention Spurger, Fred and Dime Box. The only important thing to me, no matter if it's Bug Tussle or Bettie, when I'm in Texas, I'm always in Paradise.

*Photo from texfiles.com

4 comments:

  1. If you go to Uncertain, you ought to stop by the Caddo Lake State Park.
    Before I post a video about it, I must say, with a heavy heart, my old friend and wonderful man David Lomax is the boat guide in this video.
    God Rest his soul.
    David, his brothers and his dad, were all friends with my brothers and my dad. Our dads were fishing and hunting buddies, as well as co-workers at nearby Thiokol Chemical.
    David died suddenly in his sleep almost six years ago, next to his wife that he loved deeply. It choked me up seeing him and hearing his voice again in this video. He loved Caddo Lake and got the idea to start his business there from a group of us that were river rats, whitewater canoeing on the Guadelupe River. We were all sitting around the campfire, David and his brother playing their guitars, all of us well fed, drinking beer and telling lies. David said he thought a canoe rental business would work on Caddo. He went back to Marshall, talked to the parks and wildlife people, got the only concession at the park for canoe rentals, got a loan from the bank, and he was in business. Later, he got his maritime license so he could conduct guided tours on the lake. David ran this operation for nearly 25 years before his sad and sudden death.
    Caddo Lake State Park.

    Not far from Uncertain are Mooringsport, La. and Leigh, Tx. Both were former homes to a man known as Leadbelly.

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  2. Nice story, n2l. I am sorry to hear about your friend, he sounds like he was a great guy. Thanks for the comment, my friend.

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  3. He was a genuinely good man. As golden as a 151oz. nugget.
    His younger brother and I have been best friends since we were in junior high.
    Hearing David's voice made my breath catch when I was watching the video.

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  4. Wow. Quite a guy to have left such a legacy.

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